Cabbage for Winter, including red cultivars AGM 2007-2008 AGM JANUARY KING TYPES Subcommittee assessing the trial 24 October 2007 Entries receiving The Award of Garden Merit (H4) 'Deadon'. Sent by and available from Shelley Seeds. Fairly large January King type; dark blue-green plants flushed with red produce a firm, flattened-round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 19cm; average weight 1.069kg. Uniform, attractive January King type with a flattened, round head. 'January King 3'. Sent by and available from. Large January King type; dark blue-green plants flushed with red produce a solid, flattened-round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 21cm; average weight 1.352kg. Open pollinated. Attractive heads that develop a good colour. Good yield and long spread of cut. 'Marabel', reconfirming AGM (H4) 1993. Sent by and available from A L Tozer Ltd. Fairly large January King type; dark blue-green plants flushed with red produce a firm, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 16cm; average weight 1.018kg. Attractive January King type with round, well-filled heads and good colour. Available in two retail catalogues. 'Robin', reconfirming AGM (H4) 2001. Sent by and available from Mr Fothergill's Seeds. Medium sized January King type; dark blue-green plants flushed with red produce a firm, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 17cm; average weight 739g. 1
RED CABBAGE SAVOY TYPE 'Huzaro'. Sent by and available from E W King & Co Ltd. Medium sized, red cabbage; plants are a medium pewter colour, flushed and veined purple-red. They produce a very solid, round head with a dark, purple-red internal colour; average diameter 15cm; average weight 1.192kg. Good crop of well filled, uniform heads. Could also be used for storage. 'Redcap'. Sent by and available from Thompson & Morgan Ltd. Fairly small red cabbage; pewter coloured with purple flush; plants produce a very solid, oval-round head with dark purple-red internal colour; average diameter 16cm; average weight 1.547kg. Compact, uniform plants with very dense heads and good internal colour. Can be closely spaced for baby, tennis-ball sized heads. Could be used for late Autumn cropping and would store into February from a November cut. Available in one retail catalogue. 'Alaska', reconfirming AGM (H4) 2000. Sent by and available from S E Marshall. Medium-sized Savoy type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 13cm; average weight 517g. (Photo taken 22 January) Mid to late-season Savoy cabbage with dark green, well blistered leaves. Could be grown at closer spacing for small heads. Available in two retail catalogues. 'Medee'. Sent by and available from Shelley Seeds. Also sent by Clause UK Ltd. Medium sized Savoy type; dark blue-green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy to pale-green internal colour; average diameter 14cm; average weight 500g. (Photo taken 22 January) Blue-green winter Savoy. Good dense heads with small blister. Will crop into March. Available in three retail catalogues. 'Rigoleto'. Sent by Clause UK Ltd. Medium sized Savoy type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy to pale-green internal colour; average diameter 17cm; average weight 823g. Dense, dark green Savoy type with medium-large blister and a leafy, large frame. (Photo taken 22 January) Available in two retail catalogues. 2
'Tarvoy', reconfirming AGM (H4) 2000. Sent by and available from Shelley Seeds. Medium to large Savoy type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 13cm; average weight 710g. (Photo taken 22 January). A good hardy, mid to late-season Savoy with attractive, solid heads and short internal core. 'Traviata'. Sent by Clause UK Ltd. Medium sized Savoy type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy to pale green internal colour; average diameter 16cm; average weight 666g. (Photo taken 22 January). Uniform Savoy type to crop from October and into January. Available in three retail catalogues. 'Embassy', reconfirming AGM (H4) 1998. Sent by and available from. Medium sized, hybrid cabbage; dark green plants produce a solid, slightly blistered, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 16cm; average weight 930g. (Photo taken 22 January). Late-season, lightly blistered cabbage with sweet flavour. Stands well. Available in one retail catalogue. 'Highland'. Sent by Nickerson Zwaan Ltd. Medium to large, late Tundra type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 17cm; average weight 1.049kg. Late Tundra type with a rounder head and tidy frame. Available in three retail catalogues. 'Renton', reconfirming AGM (H4) 1998. Sent by and available from Shelley Seeds. Medium sized, early Tundra type; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 14cm; average weight 926g. Early Tundra type with very uniform plants and compact habit. Attractive, dense round heads. Available in one retail catalogue. 3
TUNDRA TYPE 'Tundra', reconfirming AGM (H4) 2001. Sent by and available from Samuel Dobie & Son. Medium to large sized Tundra cabbage; dark green plants produce a solid, round-oval head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 14cm; average weight 860g. (Photo taken 22 January). Attractive dark green, solid heads with slightly blistered leaf. WHITE CABBAGE 'Kilaton'. Sent by and available from Mr Fothergill's Seeds. Large, late white cabbage; medium-green plants produce a very solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 17cm; average weight 1.516kg. Late-season, large, white cabbage with claimed resistance to club-root. The following entries have been recommended for the AGM, but cannot receive the award until they are available to the public in retail catalogues. It is the responsibility of the sender to inform the Trials Office at Wisley that all queries have been resolved. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY: 'Stanton' Sent by Elsoms Seeds Ltd. Medium sized winter green cabbage; dark green plants produce a solid, round head with creamy internal colour; average diameter 16cm; average weight 950g. (Photo taken 22 January). Attractive green, round heads are well filled. Stands well. Not yet available in retail catalogues. H4 = plants hardy outside throughout the British Isles Sources of seed for these cultivars vary from year to year. Please see the Royal Horticultural Society's leaflet Award of Garden Merit Vegetables for current stockists. This leaflet is available on the web at http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/award_plants.asp A copy can also be obtained by sending an A4 sized, self addressed envelope with two first class stamps to: 'AGM List', Botany Department, Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB 4
Trial Notes Objectives: The objectives of the trial were to compare and assess a range of winter cabbages, including reds, whites, greens, January King and Savoys, grown in the open ground for fresh use in winter; to recommend the Award of Garden Merit to outstanding cultivars for garden use and to demonstrate the cultivation of cabbages. Entries: There were 42 entries in the Trial submitted by various seed companies in the UK, Europe, USA and Korea. Cultivation: The trial plot was manured, then rotavated in March. When the soil was analysed, it was found to have a spread of ph values where other crops had been grown. This was corrected by treating the areas that had a low ph with lime and areas of high ph with sulphur, so bringing the level to a uniform ph7 across the entire plot. The seed was sown under glass on 5 June into seed pans, watered with Aliette (a fungicide) and germinated at 20 o C. The seedlings were later pricked out into P15 modules and grown on at 15 o C until ready to harden off. Environmesh covers were kept in place from the time of sowing until planting out to prevent pest damage. Prior to planting out on 4 July, the plot was cultivated by hand and raked. Plants were spaced 45cm apart, with 60cm between rows. Three half rows (3.6m long) of each entry were grown and disks were placed around each plant to prevent root fly damage. Nets were used to protect the trial from bird damage and the crop was sprayed for whitefly twice with Majestik, twice with Hallmark and once with Agri50, but caterpillars had not been a problem this year. White blister was found on some plants, so the crop was treated with an application of Repulse (fungicide). Judging: The Vegetable Trials Subcommittee inspected the trial at intervals throughout the growing season. They assessed and tasted cut heads on 24 October, 29 November 2007 and 22 January 2008 for the Award of Garden Merit [AGM]. The Subcommittee considered the following criteria: maturity : length of cut : quality : head weight and density : size : shape : internal quality : taste Findings: When the entries were inspected in October many of them had still to fill out. The Subcommittee agreed that, to meet the parameters of the trial, entries would have to stand overwinter, so entries that looked good in October and November were noted, but not recommended for award until they were assessed again in January. Amongst those that were noted as good at this time was the entry from Korea, 03C996. This had produced very large, dense heads (average diameter 24cm; average weight 2067kg) with a sweet flavour and had also been commented upon by visitors to Wisley. It did not, however, prove to be winter hardy, but the sender will be asked to resubmit it to a future trial of autumn cropping cabbage. As an objective of the trial had been to assess cabbages for fresh use in winter no entries were stored. However, it was commented that the Dutch white types were bred for storage and that in Holland the outer leaves would be stripped back, removing any diseased or damaged leaves, a few days before cutting to allow the plants to dry before storage. In January the shading from a big tree, quite close to the bottom right of the trial, became evident. Its influence had not been particularly significant earlier in the year, but it had affected growth once the sun became lower in the sky and light levels dropped in winter. 5
There had been several severe frosts in November with 15 days below 0ºC (Air minimum 5.3 ºC on 16 th ; Grass minimum 8.8ºC on 16 th and 25 th ) and in December with 17 days below 0ºC (Air minimum 7.5 ºC on 20 th ; Grass minimum 12.1 ºC on 20 th ). Also the cold is known to linger at the end of the field where the trial was located and on some occasions the cabbages were found to be frozen. January, while still cold (14 days below 0ºC), was also very wet (71.4mm compared to 62.5mm for the long term average) and these heavy rains had sped infection by bacterial rot, so the crop was cleared soon after the January assessment. However, Members agreed that winter heading cabbages should be expected to stand for several weeks and many of the entries would continue growing and putting on weight in a different year/location. The Subcommittee noted that the red cultivars had been excellent, while the Dutch whites had not been as good. They also commented that the F 1 hybrids were bred for a narrow cropping period and that in some cases open pollinated cultivars gave the home gardener a better spread of maturity. Trial entries: Awards Name Sender 'Alaska' F 1 S E Marshall AGM (H4) 2000 'Deadon' F 1 Shelley Seeds 'Embassy' F 1 AGM (H4) 1998 'Highland' F 1 Nickerson Zwaan Ltd 'Huzaro F 1 E W King 'January King 3' 'Kilaton' F 1 Mr Fothergill's Seeds Ltd 'Marabel' F 1 AGM (H4) 1993 'Medee' F 1 Shelley Seeds 'Redcap' F 1 Thompson & Morgan 'Renton' F 1 Shelley Seeds AGM (H4) 1998 'Rigoleto' F 1 Clause UK Ltd 'Robin' F 1 Mr Fothergill's Seeds Ltd AGM (H4) 2001 'Tarvoy' F 1 Shelley Seeds AGM (H4) 1993 'Traviata' F 1 Clause UK Ltd 'Tundra' F 1 Samuel Dobie & Son AGM (H4) 2001 STA 'Stanton' F 1 Elsoms Seeds AGM (H4) 2001 'Endeavour' F 1 AGM (H4) 2001 'Wintessa' F 1 Shelley Seeds AGM (H4) 1998 'Colt' Unwins AGM (H4) 1998 'Celtic' F 1 E W King AGM (H4) 1998 'Roulette' F 1 AGM (H3) 1996 'Rodeo' F 1 Mr Fothergill's Seeds Ltd 'Fuego' F 1 Johnsons Seeds 6
Awards Name Sender 'Lectro' F 1 Elsoms Seeds 'Master Class' F 1 Western Hybrid Seeds 'Red Flare' F 1 'Red Queen' F 1 Western Hybrid Seeds 'Roderick' F 1 Nickerson Zwaan Ltd 'Noelle' F 1 'Resolution' F 1 TZ 98177 F 1 'Endurance' F 1 'Consulate' F 1 'Brigadier' F 1 Thompson & Morgan 03C996 F 1 Nong Woo-Bio Co Ltd 'Helene' F 1 D T Brown & Co 'Guard' F 1 Clause UK Ltd 'Topas' N L Chrestensen 'Turkis' N L Chrestensen 'Langedijk 4' Seeds of Italy 'Storka' F 1 Takii Europe STA = subject to availability Addresses of Senders A L Tozer Ltd, Pyports, Downside Bridge Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EH Clause UK Ltd, PO Box 111, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN7 6XY D T Brown & Co, Bury Road, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7PQ E W King & Co Ltd, Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Colchester, Essex CO5 9PG Elsoms Seeds Ltd, Pinchbeck Road, Spalding, Lincs. PE11 1QG Johnsons Seeds, Gazeley Road, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7QB Mr Fothergill's Seeds, Gazeley Road, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7QB N L Chrestensen, Erfurter Samen und Pflanzenzucht GmbH, Postfach 854, 99016 Erfurt, Germany Nickerson Zwaan Ltd, JNRC, Rothwell, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN7 6DT Noog Woo-Bio Co Ltd, 1197-4 Maetan 2-Dong, Yeongtong, Suwon, Kyonggi, 443-372 Korea S E Marshall, Regal Road, Wisbech PE 13 2RF Samuel Dobie & Son, Long Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 7SX Seeds of Italy, Phoenix Industrial Est., Unit C3, Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow, Middx. HA1 2SP Shelley Seeds, 5 Speedwell Close, Huntington, Chester CH3 6DX Takii Europe B V, Hoofdweg 19, 1424 PC de Kwakel, Netherlands Thompson & Morgan Ltd, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk IP8 3BU Unwins Seeds Ltd, Elm House Nurseries, Alconbury Hill, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE28 4HY Western Hybrid Seeds Inc, P O Box 1169, Hamilton City, CA 95951, USA Source: Trials Office, The Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB e-mail: trials@rhs.org.uk. More information about RHS Trials and other colour illustrated reports can be found on the RHS Website : http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/awards2007.asp 7